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Hard Lump Behind Ear, Hurts Constantly, Vomiting, Migraine. Taken Anaprox. Lump Causing Migraine?
Question: Hi, i have a hard lump behind my ear, about 2 in diameter, that hurts. At first, it only hurt when i touched it, but now it hurts constantly. I had to sleep with icepack on it, and my sleep wasn't very good. Also, i had to vomit in the night, and I've had a migraine for last day. I've taken anaprox, and fironal for the pain, which dulled it, but didn't eliminate it. Could this lump be causing migraine, or is it a cooincidence?
Hi,
Thanks for your query.
See the most common cause of painful post-auricular (behind the ear) is retro-auricular lymphadenopathy commonly caused by scalp infection by lice. For that you need to use ketoconazole shampoo. Painful swelling in most of the cases is due to infectious etiology rather than tumor origin. It may also be pyogenic granuloma or infected sebaceous cyst. So i suggest you to consult a general surgeon to get examined locally.
Another common thing which may be responsible for this painful retro-auricular infection is chronic suppurative mastoiditis which is an infectious disease of mastoid. A CT scan may need to be done for its proper evaluation. For that I suggest you to consult an ENT specialist.
I dont think migrain is causing this painful lump. I think it is a co-incidence. You may continue anaprox and fiorinal tablets for pain relief and you may also have hot compression over that area.
Hope i have answered your queries. If you have further queries you may write back to me freely.
Wishing you quick recovery.
Best Regards,
Dr Arnab Maji
Thanks for your query.
See the most common cause of painful post-auricular (behind the ear) is retro-auricular lymphadenopathy commonly caused by scalp infection by lice. For that you need to use ketoconazole shampoo. Painful swelling in most of the cases is due to infectious etiology rather than tumor origin. It may also be pyogenic granuloma or infected sebaceous cyst. So i suggest you to consult a general surgeon to get examined locally.
Another common thing which may be responsible for this painful retro-auricular infection is chronic suppurative mastoiditis which is an infectious disease of mastoid. A CT scan may need to be done for its proper evaluation. For that I suggest you to consult an ENT specialist.
I dont think migrain is causing this painful lump. I think it is a co-incidence. You may continue anaprox and fiorinal tablets for pain relief and you may also have hot compression over that area.
Hope i have answered your queries. If you have further queries you may write back to me freely.
Wishing you quick recovery.
Best Regards,
Dr Arnab Maji
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Thanks for the detailed answer, and I will follow up with GP.
However, I'm also now getting a lump that's sore IN FRONT of the same ear. Would this also likely be related to same issue? I saw on internet that this could be a lymph node issue. I also have recently had a big problem with psoriasis on my scalp.
However, I'm also now getting a lump that's sore IN FRONT of the same ear. Would this also likely be related to same issue? I saw on internet that this could be a lymph node issue. I also have recently had a big problem with psoriasis on my scalp.
Hi,
Thanks for writing back.
I think both the swelling are likely to be related to the same issue.
You are right that this could be a lymph node issue. It may again be related to your scalp psoriasis. In psoriasis there is a good chance of getting swollen lymph nodes. Psoriasis is known to weaken the protective barrier of the skin so it’s not uncommon that the infections are more prone to go through your skin. Lymph nodes do get swollen when there is an infection in the body. As there is pain in the swelling most probably this swelling is due to infection and this infection may be attributed to your scalp psoriasis or due to treatment you are receiving for psoriasis.
You need to consult your dermatologist soon. A fine needle aspiration cytology may be helpful to bring the actual diagnosis of that swelling. If its proved to be due to infections because of psoriasis, your psoriasis treatment needs to be changed.
So please do consult your dermatologist first.
Hope that helps
Regards,
Dr Arnab Maji
Thanks for writing back.
I think both the swelling are likely to be related to the same issue.
You are right that this could be a lymph node issue. It may again be related to your scalp psoriasis. In psoriasis there is a good chance of getting swollen lymph nodes. Psoriasis is known to weaken the protective barrier of the skin so it’s not uncommon that the infections are more prone to go through your skin. Lymph nodes do get swollen when there is an infection in the body. As there is pain in the swelling most probably this swelling is due to infection and this infection may be attributed to your scalp psoriasis or due to treatment you are receiving for psoriasis.
You need to consult your dermatologist soon. A fine needle aspiration cytology may be helpful to bring the actual diagnosis of that swelling. If its proved to be due to infections because of psoriasis, your psoriasis treatment needs to be changed.
So please do consult your dermatologist first.
Hope that helps
Regards,
Dr Arnab Maji
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Aparna Kohli
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